Isaac Price’s electric performance propelled West Bromwich Albion to a thrilling 3-1 comeback victory over promotion favourites Burnley at the Hawthorns, intensifying the Championship race.
The Northern Ireland international was pivotal, scoring twice and assisting Harry Whitwell’s equaliser to overturn an early setback from Callum Styles’s own goal. Burnley, hampered by the absence of injured talisman Zian Flemming amid swirling transfer rumours, failed to live up to expectations in a subdued second-half showing.
The match exploded into life within the first 18 minutes as both sides traded blows. Burnley took an unusual lead when Styles inadvertently diverted Jacob Bruun Larsen’s cross past his own keeper in the eighth minute. West Brom’s appeals for a foul on Felix Horn Myhre by Hannibal Mejbri during the build-up were waved away, but Styles’s intervention was a costly misfortune. Albion responded swiftly: Whitwell, seizing the moment, calmly slotted home from 12 yards in the 18th minute, marking his first league goal for the club and restoring parity.
Burnley threatened again through Bruun Larsen’s near-post effort that rattled the foot of the post, but the momentum shifted dramatically after the interval. West Brom, energised by Price’s brilliance, dominated the second half. The decisive moment arrived immediately after the restart as Price curled an exquisite strike into the far corner, capitalising on goalkeeper Max Weiss’s positional error. The goal stemmed from a chaotic scramble involving Jimmy-Jay Morgan, Styles, and Mejbri, which Price expertly exploited.
Burnley attempted to respond with a triple substitution in the 57th minute, introducing Ugo Raghouber, Zeki Amdouni, and Dastan Satpayev. Amdouni’s effort tested Albion’s keeper O’Leary but lacked the precision to trouble him. Instead, West Brom extended their lead when Bashir Humphreys fouled Whitwell inside the box, handing Price a penalty. With composure, Price dispatched the spot-kick low to Weiss’s right, sealing the win.
West Brom’s flawless start to the campaign continues, maintaining a 100% record with three consecutive victories across all competitions and sitting second in the Championship table on goal difference behind Millwall. Meanwhile, Burnley’s reliance on an absent Flemming was glaring, as their second-half frailties were ruthlessly exposed by a resurgent West Brom side.